Course Offerings

Each semester combines academic study with actual managerial experience. In the first semester, students perform an extensive strategic assessment and develop a research report on their findings as a foundation for the future planning and implementation of their chosen business ventures. In the second semester, students develop strategic business and marketing plans for their entrepreneurial ventures and in the final semester, students implement, actualize and evaluate their ventures. These three interrelated activities document the Constructive Actions which uniquely reflect each MBAs student’s ability to use current management tools to effectively assess. manage and implement.

Purpose 1

Strategic Industry Analysis (MDM 615 PCA) (3 credits)
Students conduct comprehensive strategic analysis of the industry of their proposed entrepreneurial/intrapreneurial venture and the specific segments of the respective related industry involving their proposed venture for their Constructive Action. They will acquire basic research techniques and methodologies necessary to explore and analyze business trends and needs; relate those needs to their respective proposed professional situations and then apply that knowledge to identify and decide upon a venture, which will satisfy an industry need, realize an opportunity, or solve an industry problem. It is expected that through this Constructive Action, as the students learn advanced business research techniques and industry assessment methods, they will apply the resulting statistical data to deciding upon the direction or extent of their respective entrepreneurial and/or intrapreneurial ventures.back to grid

Managerial Accounting (MBA 615 SKI) (3 credits)
Students create balance sheets and income statements; and use relevant cost data for managerial decision making. Topics include: accounting practices relating to asset valuation, profit determination, cost allocation and internal control procedures. Students learn to analyze cost data related to specific projects and to classify costs/expenditures as either product or period costs as well as techniques associated with cost/analysis reporting, decision making, planning and budgeting. Students also have the option of learning the use of accounting software and tools such as QuickBooks and PeachTree.back to grid

New Media: Cyber, Social, Mobile and Beyond (MDM 615 SEL) (3 credits)
Key to succeeding in today’s “new” new media environment is an understanding that advances in technology has changed the nature of and consumer relationship with media. No longer simply receivers of media content, today’s newest media involves the audience as producers of content. This course will focus on the business, role and impact of social networks, wikis, blog sites, and interactive audio and video sites, as well as information systems, system components and properties, and the types of information knowledge useful to end-users in today’s changing media business models. The course will combine theoretical, managerial, and hands-on approaches for problem solving and decision making in media management environments. Students will work directly with emerging Web 2.0 and mobile technologies.back to grid

Entertainment Law and Media Ethics (MDM 615 VAL) (3 credits)
This course focuses on the fundamentals of contract law, the protection of intellectual property and the contractual relationships between various parties in the entertainment field, including the relationships between the artist and manager, and agents and clients media and sports fields. Students will also be provided an overview of the interrelationship between the law, ethics and business of the entertainment industries focusing on the scope of rights that attach to an entertainment enterprise, and the variety of legal, ethical and developmental issues raised in various entertainment business contexts. Emphasis will also be placed on understanding the specifics of entertainment industry power structures; methods of compensation and credit allocation; creative control; methods by which rights in a creative product may be transferred; grant of rights and representations; and warranties and indemnities relating to risks particularly characteristic of the entertainment industries. The course will also develop the argument that ethical considerations are important in the decision-making process and teach analytical reasoning skills that enable the student to identify and weigh competing ethical concerns in the managerial decision-making process in the media industries. back to grid

Business and Economics of the Film Industry (MDM 615 SYS) (3 credits)
This course will serve as an overview of the economic and business structures of the motion picture art and entertainment industry from development to distribution, exhibition and after-marketing, including the methods of operation of the film industry and financing. Included in the discussion will be an emphasis on the influence of social, technological, political and economic factors on changing artistic, financial, distribution and exhibition and aftermarket practices, both nationally and internationally.back to grid

Purpose 2

Strategic Planning (MDM 735 PCA) (3 credits)
Students apply knowledge obtained and the strategic industry assessment conducted for their Constructive Action in the prior semester, to develop a comprehensive strategic business and marketing plan for their chosen entrepreneurial and/or intrapreneurial venture. They will also learn that a well-written and exhaustive business plan is not only important in developing an entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial opportunity, but also essential in determining the allocation of resources, obtaining them and successfully managing the resulting venture. When or where appropriate, students will also plan and build a website that can be used in marketing or implementing elements of their entrepreneurial and/or intrapreneurial venture. back to grid

Managerial Economics (MBA 725 SKI) (3 credits)
Basic principles and techniques of micro and macroeconomic analysis applicable to business decisions. Topics include fundamental legal and practical considerations of financing packages; market structure; pricing and resource allocations; applications of managerial strategy and public policy with an emphasis on competition; market power and a business firm's optimal response to government regulation. back to grid

Media Marketing in a Global Environment (MDM 725 SEL) (3 credits)
Covering all fields of media this course will provide students with an overview of the principles of market research and design; marketing media-related products and services; the interdependent aspects of marketing, distribution, and exhibition in film, multimedia, broadcast, and non-broadcast industries; creating special events and sales promotion; public relations and publicity for media related products and services, artist management and promotion, character entertainment, music, publishing, etc. Students will also develop competencies in strategic planning that integrate digital media into corporate and brand marketing plans, including distribution channels, marketing campaigns, pricing strategies, and operational management of content creation and distribution.back to grid

Media Contract Drafting and Negotiations (MDM 725 VAL) (3 credits)
The entire entertainment industry is dependent upon the ability to negotiate “a deal” and then draft an agreement that reflects what the parties agreed to while protecting everyone’s rights and intellectual property assets. This class will provide an in depth overview of value issues inherent in contractual obligations, conflict resolution, and negotiation tactics. Students study the types of agreements and contracts necessary for prudent and profitable employment and media-industry operation, and will engage in individual and group conflict resolution role plays and deal making negotiations as well as develop a fundamental ability to draft and read legal agreements.back to grid

Music and Publishing Industries in the Digital Age (MDM 725 SYS) (3 credits)
This course covers the business of the music and literary publishing industries, in the United States and in the global digital environment, and focuses on the current spectrum of product creation, financing, production, marketing, distribution and exhibition in light of the rapidly changing technologies, digital rights management and copyright issues and end-user/consumer practices. Students will follow the artistic, technical and commercial development of a music venture or literary and periodically published products from inception and creation through production, distribution dissemination and marketing, both nationally and internationally.back to grid

Purpose 3

Strategic Management and Evaluation (MDM 735 PCA) (3 credits)
In this course, students will begin implementing their planned entrepreneurial and/or intrapreneurial venture, and strategically manage the actualization of their venture by setting into motion their respective business plans, identifying sources of financing and evaluating their successes and failures to apply lessons learned and adjust as needed. For this Constructive Action, students specifically will identify sources of financing and actualize business objectives by developing policies and allocating resources to implement their plans. They then will design key project metrics and indicators, monitor and evaluate the outcomes of implementation, further applying knowledge gained through practice by revising, adding, deleting or adjusting strategies as needed. By the end of the semester students will also assess the extent to which they were successful with their respective venture goals, and draft recommendations for further action.back to grid

Media, Culture, and Society (MDM 735 VAL) (3 credits)
This course will provide an historical, empirical and critical analysis of the role of media in the social production of meaning and the expansion of human knowledge and includes investigations of changes and trends in mass communications, providing general accounts of the role of media in society, accounts of the formative influences that shape the media, the way media affects social behavior and belief systems, and how the ideology of a group is produced and reproduced in its cultural practices. It will also include an examination of current modes of discourse that bear on media industries such as phenomenology, hermeneutics, semiotics, as well as structuralist, postmodern, Marxist and Feminist approaches to media research and analysis. Students will also explore the geographic, demographic, technological, political, economic and socio-cultural forces that impact upon the conduct of media management and the evolution of media industry corporate cultures from a national and international perspective.back to grid

Global Business(MBA 735 INT)
The purpose of this course is to familiarize and understand the theories and practices of international business, along with the geographic, demographic, technological, political, economic, and sociocultural forces that impact cross-cultural business, and understand the influence of national/international media related to business management. Students will study the principles and problems that individuals, companies, and institutions encounter in their business practices in a global environment. The course will illustrate the changing nature of alliances, industries and government intervention. We will introduce some of the business principles and concepts in the United States, along with the different management styles of other countries, with particular emphasis on Germany and the United Kingdom.
In addition, to allow for hands on global field experiential learning, each MBA program has its own travel study component which is built into the programmatic curriculum and included in the tuition that runs in tandem with this class. The destination for the study abroad trip for each program is selected annually, and may change from year to year. Participation in the study abroad trip is mandatory, except for very limited exceptions that may be granted by the Dean. Tuition rates are the published MCNY tuition rates regardless of whether students participate in the study abroad trip.
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Managing Electronic Broadcast Industries (MDM 735 SYS) (3 credits)
This course incorporates a total approach to the study of electronic media examining everything from the development of the radio, TV, and cable industries, to the business models of these broadcast media in both commercial and public broadcasting venues, to the emerging influence of telecommunication and web based technologies like Internet television. Students will also learn how programming is researched, developed, assessed and financed for on-air network and affiliate television and radio broadcast, cable bundling and tiering, off network and first run syndication, pay-per-view, public television, content and after market distribution, Internet streaming, podcasting, and interactive distribution formats, foreign distribution and direct broadcast satellite. This course will also analyze how media companies gather and use audience research to establish the economic value of media for advertising and also to select and develop products.back to grid

Foundation Courses

Managerial Statistics (MBA 501 FDN) (1.5 credits)
This foundation course introduces students to statistics useful for their MBA studies and for solving managerial problems. Students will learn a variety of techniques and tools to solicit, evaluate and communicate information for problem solving purposes. The course teaches the concepts and applications of business statistics, as well as providing the students the opportunity to observe and actually carry out computer-generated solutions using SPSS and Microsoft Excel.back to grid

Principles of Management & Marketing (MBA 502 FDN) (1.5 credits)
This foundation course teaches management principles to tomorrow’s business leaders by weaving three threads: strategy, entrepreneurship and active leadership. Students will also be exposed to key concepts of marketing in today's business environment such as service, sustainability, ethics and social responsibility, global coverage, and metrics.back to grid

Principles of Financial Accounting (MBA 503 FDN) (1.5 credits)
This foundation course teaches fundamental accounting procedures and the uses of accounting information. Topics include: recording transactions; controlling, costing and analyzing inventories; reporting and controlling liquid assets; measuring and reporting long-operating assets; current and contingent liabilities; the time value of money; analyzing and reporting owners' equity; balance sheets and statements of cash flow; and managing and accounting for corporate income tax. back to grid

Principles of Economics & Finance (MBA 504 FDN) (1.5 credits)
This foundation course help students to understand the practicality and relevance of economics and finance with a variety of illustrations and insights. Economics topics include: classical vs. modern economic thought; supply and demand; elasticity; competition and Monopoly; inflation and unemployment. Finance topics include: the federal reserve system; FOMC and the money market; interest rates; financial Structure; investment decisions.back to grid